We can be weirdos, just for one day

James Whitmore, managing director at Postar, wonders whether our industry has a place for leaders in the classic sense…

They say there is a crisis of leadership. Where is the vision to deliver us from the global financial pickle? In conference season, can Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband rally their supporters? Can they make a persuasive case to the electorate?

The accusation is that politicians no longer lead. They merely gauge opinion and fight for the most anodyne and inoffensive mid-point. They do not strive for the sunlit peaks but choose to wallow in a sludgy blancmange in the gloom at the bottom of the valley. It is a perverse utilitarianism, where one seeks the least offence for the greatest number.

Which got me thinking about leadership in our industry. Is there any? Is it even relevant?

Certainly there are a lot of courses. Budget permitting, there is no shortage of companies willing to persuade your best people that if they were not born that way, at least they might be made so.

One of the fun things about these programmes is the quiz that aims to give you an understanding of your “style”. These are a little like the sort of thing you see in women’s magazines where, however you answer, your category will not be so offensive as to cause you to cancel your subscription.

I remember one such exercise where I was deemed a “creative thruster”. Thoughts of a second career in the adult film industry somewhat clouded my ability to place the analysis in the context of my job.

One thing that does hit home – whether you are categorised on a wheel, an octagon, a box or an intersecting set of triangles – is an appreciation that people are very different. If you are one particular trait, then there are six or seven characteristics that others manifest and that you do not.

For example, you might have an image of a castle that the kingdom should build. It is clear in your mind and you can describe it in detail. You can even say how much you are prepared to spend on its construction. Your lords do not understand because you have not told them how many bricks it will need, where you will route the electric cabling or who will get to sit in the chair by the window. How can a castle make sense if you don’t know the detail of how it is going to be put together?

So are you the weirdo in the meeting or is it them? And if you think a colleague is peculiar, you can be certain that they see you in the same way. Perhaps you will agree on the benefits of diversity.

With most firms being in thrall to either holding companies or moneylenders, does our industry have a place for leaders in the classic sense? Apple is an obvious example of an organisation where visionaries rule. Can you think of others?

The trend is for certainty rather than inspiration. In the present climate there is an understandable aversion to risk and the standard requirement is for “a safe pair of hands”. Management skills are highly valued as that is what the situation requires.

This is all very well so long as we don’t become overwhelmingly homogenous. The challenge for the industry is to avoid the same pit as the politicians. Aiming for the middle may well minimise surprises but is it enough? Where does it take you in the long run?